Scouts And Soldiers
In the early morning hours when the trumpet sounds… the army of ants
wipe the sleep from their eyes and move about the forest floor.
Soldiers proudly marching one by one as they go searching for food. They set up camp as they send out a few scouts ahead of the
rest in their quest for food. Days
at camp are long and the worker ants are busy with their daily activities.
Like a bold knight they wear their armor on the outside of their bodies
to protect their soft bodies inside. They
have six legs, a head, thorax, abdomen, jaws, antennas' and large eyes.
Ants can survive almost anywhere on earth.
"ANTie Patti, what happens when an ant dies?"
Well, the other ants carry it away to protect the health of all the other
ants. It touches our hearts when we
see them doing just that.
Ants are more than 100 million years old!
Here's an ant older than all of us humans!
A lovely senior citizen named "ANTie Matilda" (Which is the
nick-name I used for my younger sister, Mitzi) she can find her way easily
through our maze for the small graham cracker crumb on the other side.
"How does ANTie Matilda do that?" Well, ants can't see, hear or speak so she uses her antennas'
(her sensors or feelers) to direct her through our complicated maze.
Have you ever noticed a trail of ants inside or outside of your house?
When you see one it will usually lead to some food.
Maybe a lollipop or pop-sickle you dropped on the floor.
Some sugar or even a small crumb that fell off the counter.
Kids! No need to panic
though. There is a natural way to
deter ants in the kitchen. You can
place some mint flavoring on a cotton ball and leave it on the counter.
Ants don't like mint and best of all it will not hurt them.
"What about red ants ANTie Patti?"
Well, they are generally rusty colored to brownish black and even black! You can find them in wooded areas and high elevations.
They love the honeydew from aphids on plants, the nectar from flowers as
well as other insects. They
sometimes make their nests near small trees or bushes.
Remember the old saying…Ants in your pants will make you dance!
If one should crawl on you, you can be certain that others are not far
away. Ants are fragile insects so
we need to be careful as we share the earth with them.
Ants have been around much longer than we have.
I'm sure we can learn a lot more about ANTie Matilda and the oldest
citizens on earth in the very near future!
Copyright
1997 by Author Patti Tricoli
